Winter Night Shelters
Churches Winter Night Shelter:
The Kingston Churches Winter Night Shelter that KCAH set up along with the local churches is almost at the end of a highly successful three month scheme. 50 "guests" have passed through the 14 church shelters which have offered their venues on a rota basis. These are people who present themselves as homeless at the KCAH office and would otherwise be rough sleeping or "sofa surfing" among friends and family until they outstay their welcome.
The Night Shelters would not exist without the wealth of volunteer support that has been generated from around the local community. More than 200 volunteers have been involved. KCAH has trained the volunteers so that they can offer a warm welcome and a listening ear to the guests but also maintain the rules of the shelter which have a zero tolerance towards drink and drugs.
All referals to the shelters are made through KCAH. Please contact Daniela Lewis our Hostel Placement Officer on 0208 255 7400. The final day for referrals will be Friday 26th February.
Donation Thank Yous:
We continue to be well supported by the local Churches and by private donations. Without this support, KCAH would not be able to function. So a BIG THANK YOU! We do appreciate any support we receive, be it through giving - of time or financially - and we are always looking for donations of non-perishable food to distribute to the street homeless and to our tenants. Cleaning materials are always most welcome too so that we can sometimes give our tenants a helping hand in our bid to keep the houses in our Access Project looking spotless!
The response at Harvest time from the local Churches and Schools was incredible. Our food stocks are already diminishing as people who are homeless or on low incomes have come to us for help.
KCAH has received some funding from the Thames Community Foundation to pay for a staff member, Daniela Lewis, to co-ordinate the shelters while they operate. KCAH has also received generous donations including sleeping bags and sleeping mats from John Lewis and Millets in Kingston. Thanks too to REED Employment in Kingston for making KCAH their Christmas Charity in 2009 providing donations of non-perishable food, cleaning materials, sleeping bags, crockery and cleaning materials. KCAH also wishes to thank the Town Centre Management Team, the Primary Care Trust and the Police for their support.
The Mayor’s Charity
This year, Kingston’s Mayor,
The Worshipful the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Councillor Ian R McDonald
Has targeted homelessness in the local area and is supporting KCAH in our efforts to help those in housing need. By raising the roof about the homeless problems, our Mayor is helping to raise the profile of our Charity in the local area, ensuring that there is more joined up writing between the agencies that work towards tackling the homeless issue and is raising money that will be directed to resolving many of the problems that Kingston faces due to homelessness.
